Morocco selects French company to lead Marrakech-Kenitra high-speed rail supervision

The Moroccan National Railway Office (ONCF) is officially seeking the expertise of a consortium made up of three railway infrastructure development companies, led by the French company “Egis Rail,” to assist in managing the infrastructure project for the “Marrakech–Kenitra high-speed rail” route.

This high-speed rail line will span 450 kilometers, with trains expected to reach speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour.

According to official documents from the National Railway Office, as reviewed by Hespress and available on the National Public Procurement Portal, the tender (S009/PLGV), which was opened under an open call for tenders, has been awarded to a consortium led by the French company Egis.

This decision came after the committee responsible for selecting competing companies for the “open call for tenders” concluded its work.

The competition was particularly fierce between the French company Egis and its partners on one side, and the Spanish civil engineering group Ineco on the other.

Ultimately, the French specialist group “Egis – Egis Rail” was chosen as the winner of this public contract by the Railway Office in recent months.

According to the same source, a financial offer was retained from a consortium of three companies led by the renowned French group in the field of railway infrastructure. T

his consortium will provide support services for the major project involving the extension of the high-speed train line (LGV), which is expected to connect the cities of Kenitra and Marrakech.

It is worth noting that the financial offer retained by the project owner (ONCF – High-Speed Rail Line Works Directorate), submitted by a joint group consisting of three operating companies (Egis Rail/Systra/Novec), amounts to 1.385 billion MAD.

This is compared to the competing Spanish company Ineco, which offered the lowest bid at a total of approximately 1.309 billion MAD, marking a difference of about 80 million MAD between the two parties.

According to the same document, the opening of envelopes for the open tender (AOO) took place on April 25, 2024, before the committee tasked with the LGV tender officially completed its work on July 31st.

The contract focuses on providing assistance services in managing infrastructure projects on the LGV line between Kenitra and Marrakech.

It includes phases concerning “project management and integration assistance,” followed by a “conditional phase 1” involving “complementary project management and integration assistance,” a second conditional phase titled “assistance in testing and approval,” and finally, a third phase primarily dealing with “civil engineering studies supervision.”